flatmate doesn't want to pay his full share of council tax

CIS

I thought HMO's were applied for if the house had 5 or more tenants and three storeys high? All bills are paid separately.

And to confuse matters further - council tax has a different definition of a HMO to that used for licensing purposes.

Hey, so I'm currently in a flatshare with three other's. Two students and two professionals.

Who is the tenant of the property and who is the sub-tenant ?.

BigAunty

Ariana112 wrote: »

Ok this is getting confusing... how does a HMO relate to council tax?

I made it clear that is a complex relationship between HMOs and CT is and why you must check directly with your council because it varies from area to area.

The council makes the decision about a property’s designation as an HMO and whether the landlord is liable for paying the tax. What does your council say on this matter for your property?

Although there is a mandatory scheme which you have mentioned, there are also additional discretionary schemes, plus HMO legislation may also vary between England and Scotland.

This is why you need to check with your local council if the property is classed as a HMO for CT purposes or not to rule out whether or not the liability is with the landlord.

If not, you need to find out if you are actually a sub-tenant/licensee and whether this means the actual tenants are liable as they may be above this group in the liability hierarchy.

It's a minefield in a mixed student/working household, further complicated when it could be a HMO and made even harder to understand when a tenant sublets the property to lodgers.

Jobseeeker

The two professionals should split the council tax 50/50. That's how it normally works in a flat share.

Caz3121

Ariana112 wrote: »

HSo although I get where he is coming from, if he wanted to avoid council tax, he should have gotten all students in.

You could also argue that if you wanted to pay 25% of the council tax you should have chosen to live with 3 non-students

Ariana112

I'm currently looking into the HMO with my council. As a previous poster has mentioned, it's the property you live in. Therefore we are splitting it equally. It's a house cost therefore like any other house cost, student or not, we're all going to pay a fair share.

Caroline_a

macman wrote: »

Council Tax is not a personal tax, it's a tax based on the property. If the student agreed to you becoming a tenant (or sub-tenant) knowing that you were working, he must (or should have known) that the property would then become liable for CT. When did the other working tenant take up occupation-before or after you did?
Therefore it seems perfectly fair that CT should be split between all the occupiers. The student's don't presumably pay a smaller share of the other shared bills just because they are students, so why should that apply to the CT bill?
Students are not 'exempt from CT': it's the property they occupy that is exempted if it's a 100% student house, and registered as such.
However, I'm unclear if you are a legal (sub)tenant, or a lodger, or whether the whole property is an HMO? In which case it's a different scenario altogether.

I'm fairly sure this is incorrect. My daughter was sharing a house with some students the year after she left uni, and she paid single person's CT whereas the students paid nothing. As a student she paid nothing.

tripled

Ariana112 wrote: »

Hey, so I'm currently in a flatshare with three other's. Two students and two professionals.

One of the students won't pay his full share in council tax. He has said it's only fair if the professionals pay more as students are exempt. The thing is, I'm subletting off him, and he is renting from a private landlord. So although I get where he is coming from, if he wanted to avoid council tax, he should have gotten all students in.

We have a house meeting this week to discuss this. What can I put forward as a valid argument?

If they don't accept splitting the total bill equally between all tenants, you are moving out and they will have to find a replacement lodger (which will cost them more in the short term unless they can line up a replacement very fast).

They will either accept that or tell you to get on your bike.

CIS

My daughter was sharing a house with some students the year after she left uni, and she paid single person's CT whereas the students paid nothing. As a student she paid nothing.

Full time students are 'disregarded' for council tax purposes. A property occupied only by disregarded students is exempt from council tax.

Carer

I think your student is correct, he is exempt so why should he pay just because you are not?

From Gov.uk:

These people are not counted as adults for Council Tax:

children under 18
people on apprentice schemes
18 and 19-year-olds in full-time education
full-time college and university students
young people under 25 who get funding from the Skills Funding Agency or Young People’s Learning Agency
student nurses
foreign language assistants registered with the British Council
people with a severe mental disability
live-in carers who look after someone who isn’t their partner, spouse or child
diplomats

CIS

The gov.uk site is a very simple explanation of council tax legislation - there's a lot more to it than it gives.